The Jewish Literary Society in Baghdad (Ar. Jam‘iyya Adabiyya Isrā’īliyya), Iraq’s first Zionist organization, was founded on July 15, 1920. In the guise of a literary society, its mission was to promote the teaching of the Hebrew language and Jewish studies. The president of the new society, Salmān Reuven Ḥayya (1898?–1920), was a police officer; its secretary was Salmān Shīna (1898–1978). In August 1920, the society opened a library and club where lectures could be held. On November 19, 1920, it published the first issue of the literary weekly Yeshurun, half in Hebrew and half in Judeo-…